Earth

Earth is featured prominently in the Red Faction series. It is often pictured as an oasis of technology and freedom, safeguarded by the Earth Defense Force and a massive fleet of warships. Many Martian colonists are Earth-born immigrants.

Contents

History

At some point between the years 2008 and 2070, Earth began to run out of usable materials. This shortage accelerated the colonization of Mars. The Ultor Corporation in particular supplied Earth with much-needed resources obtained by Martian miners. The many human rights abuses committed in the past were hidden from the general Earth population. In 2075, a group known as the Red Faction rebelled against Ultor, allowing the Earth Defense Force to take control of Mars. During the next fifty years, news of Ultor's abuses appeared to have reached Earth; when Earth-born Alec Mason immigrated to Mars in 2125 and discussed the Red Faction with his brother, he commented, "Didn't enough people die the last time?"

The shortage in Earth-based resources appeared to have continued over the course of those fifty years; by 2125, the Earth Defense Force had become an occupying force, ruling over Mars with an iron fist. Propaganda about Earth seemed to have taken a negative turn; in Red Faction: Guerrilla, the EDF's public broadcasting system often aired stories about disasters on Earth, like plane crashes and rioting. This is in stark contrast to Mars-related news, in which all news disadvantageous to the EDF was either toned down or completely spun as good. One likely explanation for this discrepancy is that the EDF would have wanted to encourage immigration to Mars, to increase the work force there.

Around 2120, the Red Faction was revived; by 2125, it successfully liberated Mars from Earth's military. After the EDF's forced removal from Mars, Earth's fate remains unknown. If Earth was unable to establish peaceful relations with or a dominion over Mars, then it would have likely been unable to find other ways of gathering resources, possibly leading to an economic collapse or worse.

Culture and civilian life

Not much is known about Earth's culture, or about the day-to-day lives of its civilians. However, several things can be deduced from events in Red Faction: Guerrilla.

Alec Mason's surprise at the EDF's harsh behavior would seem to imply that Earth's government and police forces are considerably more lenient. News broadcasts seen on Martian news services often mention riots and other negative incidents on Earth; assuming that these reports are true (rather than simply being propaganda), it can be assumed that Earth is in a state of noticeable decline. This is at odds, however, with the EDF's ability to mass-produce expensive structures and vehicles; from this, one could reason that Earth's civilians are not receiving a full or even an equal share of the EDF's Martian revenue.

One news broadcast in particular mentions a plane crash in the "Amazon desert"; from this, one could guess that at some point in Earth's history, humanity was so desperate for resources that they began to disregard environmentally-friendly practices and renewable sources of energy, turning to more wasteful practices like deforestation and sparing nothing, not even rainforests.